Webelos 2 and Scout at the same time?

[John-in-KC]

My then-bride and I held our son back at K. He went through Scouting with his class peers (a year younger than him in age). He actually got busy in Scouting two years late, his Mom would not give him time his first year to go to Scout Camp.

 

He ended up being the only Eagle from his year group. He earned Eagle at 17 years, 3 months, and then earned two palms before aging out.

 

Point, you ask? It can be done!

[momof2cubs]

I'm sure it can. Given a motivated scout, I have heard of boys as young as 13 and 14 getting it. While I know my kid is motivated NOW, a lot can change during the teen years. As I heard it from a good friend of mine, they become "girl scouts" if you know what I mean.

 

Like I said, that's a minor consideration right now. Main reason I originally asked is because he's very motivated NOW, he's older than his peer, he has several friends crossing over this year, and I have concerns (previously mentioned) with his den leader. I really didn't want him to cross over entirely at the end of this year, but I had envisioned a double program: Web IIs and Boy Scouts.

[Eagle92]

Well if he can't stick to his goal and becomes a girl scout, then maybe he isn't Eagle material? I know I was a Life Scout for over 4 years, and part of that was I was affected by "the 'fumes: perfume and car fumes." That and I was having too much fun doing HA activities, Brownsea 22, and OA

[momof2cubs]

Yeah, I hear ya. I won't be able to do much about that.

 

Although I have heard of some parents that won't let their sons get their driver's license until they make Eagle. Not sure I can go for that. But you gotta admit it's a powerful motivator: without the license, there is not any car fumes, and it makes it difficult to chase the perfumes. LOL

[Scoutfish]

I know you are probably joking, but NEVER hold a license hostage to Eagle. Had 2 different friends who were in that situation:

 

One got his Eagle, got his license and immediatly dropped out because he now despised what he used to love because it became a leverage tool for dad instead of scouting for jr.

 

The other called the parents bluff and dropped out of scouting and waited til he was 18 to get his license.

 

 

Also, I wanted to mention a 3rd possibility: Become a Den Leader yourself. Sound like you are motivated, a real go getter and don't wait around for cobwebs to grow. My Webelos I son and his friends ( well pretty much all Webelos ) have an unending supply of energy! They need to burn it off!

[clemlaw]

I also wouldn't worry about the time required to finish Eagle. Whether he has five years or six, he can still do it at a very leisurely pace.

 

Many Eagles (myself included) earn their Eagle when they are 17 years old. But this is not because it takes that long--it's because there's a natural tendency to use all of the available time.

 

I was about 17 1/2 when I finished Eagle. If the cutoff had been 19 years old instead of 18, I have no doubt that I would have earned it when I was 18 1/2.

 

If anything, starting later might keep him (and you) a little bit more focused on getting the requirements finished. But I don't think it really matters much one way or another.

[momof2cubs]

Scoutfish: I have heard of parents doing it. Not something I think I could do. For the reasons you mentioned. Plus it doesn't seem right.

 

I thought about becoming a den leader myself. I already had YPT since I hold the Awards Chair position in my pack and it was also required for volunteering at the Scout Day Camp (how much fun was that!) But today I had some free time and went ahead and did all the required on-line training. So I am officially "trained". That's right scouts: be afraid..be very afraid!!!

 

But I haven't decided yet. As you can probably guess, I am not my son's den leader's favorite person. I'm afraid it might cause friction.

[momof2cubs]

clemlaw: I believe it. With all the "red shirting" that's going on these days and holding boys back that have summer birthdays, I wouldn't be surprised if BSA changed the max age to something like "18 years old OR high school graduation, whichever comes last"

 

Boy would that cause a lot of controversy.

[clemlaw]

>>>>>Boy would that cause a lot of controversy.

[Scoutfish]

Well, if a Dl is doing the bare minumum, then technically, I suppose he is doing his job.

 

But I feel like "that" kind of friction is needed.

 

Pretty much good ole competition! If he feels inadequate about his program , he needs to step it up.

 

If he's doing a great job...he has nothing to worry about.

 

But if a pack has a person who is willing , enthuses and trained wanting to step up - that's a GREAT problem to have!

 

If it causes friction with the other DL..then he is the issue!

[momof2cubs]

clemlaw: oh good grief..i can really see it though.

 

Scoutfish: that's pretty much what my CM said.

[Basementdweller]

In her pack the Webelos program is 2 years. So what?

 

Just one parent is worried he is doing the bare minimum???? If you do a two year webelos program you need to stretch the program to fill two years.

 

Explain to me why he should modify his program for one scout??????? so why are you punishing this leader because you chose to hold him out of school a year.

 

It is still early in the year, ask for him to tag along with the weeb 2's to get his visits done.

 

 

[momof2cubs]

Basementsweller:

First of all, I am not asking anyone to modify his program to suit my kid. This thread started because I wanted to know my options and what the rules were.

 

Second of all, I am not "punishing" the den leader because of what I chose to do. I only pointed out that I held back my kid to explain why he would be eligible to cross over in 4th grade and to explain my concerns about his scout career being shorter than most scouts since he will turn 18 the summer after his junior year in high school(which turns out is irrelevant anyways).

 

My concerns with this den leader stem from other issues. For instance, the fact that he doesn't show up to pack meetings and doesn't tell anyone about it so we can prepare. Or the fact that he is not planning on having webelos overnights because he won't get BALOO training. Or the fact that he only plans to cover 8 webelos pins over the course of 2 years. Or the fact that he has refused (or greatly resisted) my offers to help make the program more fun and robust. Or that he almost quit the program entirely at the end of the bear year when I offered to become his assistant leader.

 

I only want what's best for my child and I want to help the den be all that it can be. Since I am being thwarted in my efforts, I posted here to get some options and opinions. (which were great btw, thank you all!)

[Basementdweller]

You don't need baloo trained to hold webelos Den camp outs. Baloo only is required for a tour permit to hold a Pack Family camp out.

 

Webelos outdoor leadership WOW or Outdoor webelo leadership skills OWL is not required for webelo den camping. it is suggested not required "To provide leadership for this event, Webelos den leaders should complete the course, Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders, No. 13-33640."

 

Yep 8 pins in two years is pretty thin. we did 5 in a week at resident camp.

 

 

Sounds like a bad apple den leader. I would approach the Troop and ask if your son or a couple of boys from the den could attend an outing. it maybe irrelevant cause he will age out before he can earn the

[momof2cubs]

Wait..really? Can you tell me where you read that rule? My CM was pretty adamant we needed OWL trained adult to hold webelos den camping!

 

If what you quoted is true, it could solve a lot of problems!